Sigfox's Inaugural Hacking House Unveils New IoT Solution Designs

Sigfox,
the global Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) connectivity provider,
hosted a final pitch event in the San Francisco Bay Area on Nov. 15 in
which participants of Sigfox's inaugural Hacking
House program, hosted at 42 Silicon Valley, presented three IoT
solutions to real-world problems to mentors and technologists.

Sigfox's first-ever Hacking House program drew 12 participants -
including students, developers and freelancers from around the globe -
who underwent intensive IoT and Sigfox technology training over the
course of three months. Applying their IoT knowledge and working in
collaboration with Sigfox project managers, device makers and startup
executives, participants operated in project teams to create three IoT
solutions to some of today's most pressing technological, environmental
and business problems using Low Power Wide Area connectivity.

The IoT solutions developed and presented for the first time at the
Hacking House final pitch event include:

Connected Seals - designed to create accountability within
container shipping, this solution alerts companies engaged in import
and export activity when container seals are removed. In contrast to
competitive solutions, this application delivers the information
needed in a simple, cost-effective and recyclable way.

Lali Wildfire Detection - created in response to California's
recent wildfires, this application identifies and alerts firefighters
when and where a fire starts, providing them with the information
needed to quickly reach and contain the fire before causing widespread
damage.

Based on disruptive and feasibility criterias, the panel of judges -
which included Ethan Haigh from HAX, Tim Robinson from IBM (News - Alert), Geraldine Le
Meur from The Refiners and Raouti Chehih from Sigfox, as well as experts
from vertical industrie spanning retail, logistics and forest
protection - evaluated teams on their abilities to deliver a product or
a service to targeted industries. Every team will benefit from a
post-program follow-up as an alumni of the Hacking House program. The
three teams will also receive full support from Sigfox to continue their
projects as startups or individual projects. This includes support from
Sigfox's network of incubators, accelerators, VCs and investors, to help
teams transform their ideas into real products and services.

A special mention was given to the Connected Seal team for their
commitment and diligence throughout the development process of their
project, and for the quality of the results obtained in such a short
period of time.

"I could very easily define this experience as a key personal and
professional point in my life. Before I came, I had the concern that my
skills weren't relevant enough for the job to be done. Turns out,
without having any coding or programming skills, I can still be a vital
member of the team. It was a challenging experience. We needed to hack
problems with the least resources. If we were lacking a certain skill,
one of us had to learn the skill, if we were lacking a contact, one of
us had to make and build the relationships. In our team, our differences
complemented each other, that helped us to get a lot more work done,"
said Alberto Mannil from the Connected Seal team.

The teams will be offered opportunities within Sigfox and its ecosystem
(Sigfox Corporation, Sigfox Operators in countries or startups, SMEs or
larger companies of the largest global IOT ecosystem).

"When time, budget and resources are limited, you need to step away
from the traditional design and fabrication methods. It is now that you
must force yourself to dare to think differently and 'out of the box.' I
have found that the best way to get appropriate dynamic solutions is
through crafting a unique and diverse team. A variety of cultures and
view points seem, at least to me, to yield the best results, and the
Hacking House program provides just such opportunities," added Ashley
Dara Dotz, co-Founder at Field Ready and mentor at the Hacking House.

"The potential for IoT knows no borders," said Raouti Chehih,
chief adoption officer, Sigfox. "Adoption, on the other hand, has
historically been limited by device cost, battery consumption and
solution scalability. Sigfox technology overcomes these barriers,
enabling solutions to real world problems. We educate tomorrow's IoT
innovators on our technology and we demonstrate what can be achieved
with low power wide area IoT connectivity. We also had the chance to be
supported by 42 Silicon Valley and its CEO, Kwame Yamgnane, who brought
its expertise in education and entrepreneurship, it was a real chance to
build this new concept with their full support."

While the inaugural Hacking House has commenced, Sigfox is accepting
applications for the next Hacking House season in the San Francisco Bay
area and an additional Hacking House in Taipei, both opening in Q1 2019.
Candidates interested in participating in the next season can apply
here on or before January 11, 2019.

"We are looking for real dreamers and problem solvers," added Moojan
Asghari, Hacking House manager Sigfox. "Our mission is to provide
an environment for these young talents to help them explore their
potentials. It is crucial to have a team that learns from each other's
experiences and whom together move the goal post."

The Hacking House program is made possible through partnerships with 42
Silicon Valley, host of the inaugural Hacking House, and VANTIQ,
Sigfox's premiere application platform provider.

About SigfoxSigfox is the world's leading IoT service
provider thanks to its global network that connects billions of devices
to the Internet while consuming as little energy as possible, as simply
as possible. Sigfox's unique approach to device-to-cloud communications
addresses the three greatest barriers to global IoT adoption: cost,
energy consumption, and global scalability.

Today, the network is present in 53 countries and on track to cover 60
by 2018. With millions of objects connected and a rapidly growing
partner ecosystem, Sigfox empowers companies to move their business
model towards more digital services. Founded in 2010 by Ludovic Le Moan
and Christophe Fourtet, the company is headquartered in Labège near
Toulouse, France's "IoT Valley." Sigfox also has offices in Paris,
Madrid, Munich, Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, Dubai, Singapore, Sao
Paulo and Tokyo.